Assistant winemakers work at wineries and vineyards, setting up laboratory equipment, helping the winemaker oversee the cellar employees and tasting the wine to ensure the excellence of blends. Assistant winemakers typically need a bachelor's degree in enology, food science, chemistry or a closely related subject. The expected salary of an assistant winemaker depends on where they work and on the size of the vineyard or winery that employs them.

National Pay for Assistant Winemakers

According to a salary survey conducted by industry magazine Wine Business Monthly, assistant winemakers across the United States earned an average of $68,825 per year in 2013. Similarly, salary website Indeed.com reported that assistant winemaker positions commanded an average annual salary of $64,000 as of January 2014.

Pay by Winery Size

The size of a winery can have an effect on the expected pay for assistant winemakers. According to Wine Business Monthly, assistant winemakers employed by small vineyards producing 50,000 or fewer cases of wine per year reported the lowest average salary, $61,243 a year. Vineyards producing between 100,000 and 499,999 cases of wine per year paid assistant winemakers the highest average salary, $75,663 per year. The largest wineries, those producing 500,000 or more cases of wine per year, paid assistant winemakers an average of $67,393 per year.

Pay by Location

Pay for winemakers varies by wine-making region in the United States. According to Wine Business Monthly, winemakers -- the position directly above assistant winemakers -- earned an average of $96,344 per year in California, while those working in Washington ($87,740) and Oregon ($80,290) tended to earn less. The same geographical disparities hold true for assistant winemakers; according to Indeed.com, assistant winemakers in California earned an average of $69,000 per year in California as of January 2014, $63,000 in Washington and $61,000 in Oregon.

Job Outlook

According to Wine Business Monthly, the job outlook for assistant winemakers and other cellar staff is positive. While the number of job postings for cellar staff on WineJobs.com fell from a five-year high of 925 in 2012 to 878 in 2013, this is still a much higher number than in recent years. In fact, wine-making and production jobs were the most in-demand position in wineries in 2013. Above all, vineyards are looking for winemakers who have not only formal education but also prior wine cellar experience.